Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-03
pAILY HERALD.
DAILY HERALD.
THE LIBRARY.
|nadequatess Quarters For
the Books.
EUCH NOREI:ROOM NEEDED.
fore Papers on File Than In
Larger Cities-6000
BOOks-Etc.
THE LIBRARY.
UcH MoREl:RooM NEEDED.

Los Angeles has perhaps less reason
10 feel proud Of its public library than
4 VI any other of its institutions. While
kery other branch Of the public SER
Ice has been improved to some ex-
int the library has been at stand
ill, and is to-day in such condition
at it must be altered in some man
r for the better. In the first place
3 rooms are inadequate in size, and,
4 although in a convenient locality, this
does not make up for the bad air
which is to be met with on the inside
Of the rooms. A representative of
i the HERALD visited the library yester-
day afternoon and found the librarian,
& Miss Jessie A, Gavitt, seated behind
the rail in the principal Of the four
&Gman rooms over which she has
large. Miss Gavitt said that
Se had been endeavoring for
fme time past to have the rooms al
ted 80 as to give her more room for
books which are constantly COM
x in. The book-room with its crowd
shelves is quite small, and there is
e77sihyely room for no more books
ithcut piling them on top of others,
End If this is done some will be hidden.
djoining this room is the ladies read
{hg room, and it was Miss Gavitt's
&los that the partition between the
#uo be torn down and shelves extend
I'd around its sides. If this were done
1>.H4S< ~ <&skxv 81 kI,o 1:b~o~- rr,o,,1l ho
s3increased by about so per cent. The
pbstaOle to be overcome before this
Wsn be done is the desire of the owner
the bnilding, who thinks that it will
VI pay to tear down the partition
~ rebuild at the end of the year. 1t
proposed to remove the library into
new City Hall when that edifce
been completed, and it is ex-
I'D that this will not take place for
year hence. The proprietor,
efore, believes that it will not pay
ave the wall, which is of brick,
down for so short period as q
6. Besides, he thinks that if the
wall is torn down the strength of
building will be impaired. The
frd Of Regents of the Library,
ever, proposed to replace the wall
strong iron posts if permitted so
70. Inside of these twelve months
expected that the library will en-
sc its list of books by at least 1873
cent, and it cannot do this unless
ne change is made. At the pres
time there is nothing but shelves
III. the book room and there
no way of protecting the more
able works. Miss Gavitt thinks
there should be cases with locks
books of reference, which should
e allowed to be taken from the
~. There are in the library at
Esix thousand books, with shelves
commodate hardly more than four
land.
newspaper rooms on the other
of the hall are in no better condi-
The library has q larger list of
rs than even the Omaha library,
lii is visited daily by very large
sdAber Of people. In the evening the
rms are crowded, and the rooms
ing inside are without proper venti-
:. ION. Considering the value of the
Ihanges to the public there should
ut least twice as much room as at
f5out. 1HcKc dTc W Dc lOuuu III
sse rooms 20 dailies, 43 weeklies, q
H1thlies and l bi-monthly. The
Saha library, with larger popu-
to read them, has only II dailies
47 weeklies. This is very
able showing and those who
use for the papers think that
should have better accommoda-
As the rooms are arranged at
1t there is no way of watching
to prevent the mutilation of the
}, and Miss Gavitt says that this
se frequent occurrence in spite
that che can do. The matter of
ing some change in the arrange
{ Of the library came up at the
meeting of the Board of Regents
will probably come up again at
ext meeting.